Wrong 6.5!

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theotherwaldo

theotherwaldo

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I was going through the rifle rack of a LGS (as I often do) when I spotted a nicely sporterized Swedish Mauser. Priced at $250, probably will go for less. Nice late-'50's walnut stock, good trigger job, properly mounted scope base, good re-blueing, pristine rifling, everything looked fine... until I saw what was stamped on the barrel.

6.5 JAP!

Should that be a deal killer?
 
If nothing else, it is a deal confuser! Is it a 6.5 Swedish that was sporterized and foolishly rechambered/rebarreled to 6.5 Arisaka, or simply a mis-marked barrel???
 
Are you sure it's a sporterized Swedish Mauser (in my understanding, only made originally in 6.5x55)? Could it be a sporterized Arisaka Type I (made in Italy, 6.5x50, based on Carcano action; I have a non-sporterized Arisaka Type I made by Beretta)? It's not clear to me how a Swedish Mauser could be re-chambered for the shorter cartridge, I would think the barrel would have to be replaced.
 
Fella's;

If the rear of the bolt has a large, round (about 32mm) knob on it, it's an Arisaka. The knob may have a fancy swirl pattern on it representing the chrysanthemum, a Japanese Imperial symbol. OTOH, many of the captured Arisaka's had the symbol ground off by G.I.'s who were delighted to do so. However, the vast majority of those grindings were obviously done by hand, not in a machine shop.

The Arisaka action is quite strong and can accommodate almost any rebarrel, or wildcat, common to the 40's & 50's, when most were done. But, be aware that not all of the conversions were so marked, making a chamber cast very necessary for safety's sake.

Lastly, I agree that the chances of this gun actually being a Swedish Mauser that is indeed chambered in 6.5 Jap, to be vanishingly small.

900F
 
If it is a swedish mauser AND has what looks like the original barrel, there is effectively zero chance of it being chambered in 6.5 Arisaka. The rim is slightly smaller than the rim of a 6.5x55 swede. The base, however, is significantly smaller. The only way to make up the difference is to have an insert of some sort. The swede is also significantly longer. What I would do is beg, borrow, or steal (ok, not the steal part) a 6.5x55 round, case, or dummy round and see if it will chamber.

I've seen some very badly marked stuff, like a sporterized K98k that was marked 8mm Rem Mag and an unaltered M91/30 marked as 7.62x51 NATO/308 Win.

Now, if someone did replace the barrel and have it chambered in 6.5x50 Arisaka, all is not lost. It should ream out quite nicely to 6.5x55. The body on the 6.5x55 is larger in all dimensions than the Japanese round. The only issue might be the length of the throat that is cut into the gun now. Even then, it's probably not an issue.

Matt.
 
A nicely sporterized Arisaka in 6.5 Jap for $250???? I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat-you can probably haggle on the price since it's such an "oddball" caliber.

I have had 2; sold one to a friend who needed a rifle to hunt with, and still have & shoot the other one. Accurate, mild recoil, nothing about mine not to like.

Sam
 
I don't know why or how a Swedish Mauser ended up chambered in the 6.5 Jap but the 6.5 x 55 Arisaka cartridge is no slouch. I have two Type 38 carbines and a Type 38 rifle and they are all pretty close to my 6.5 Husqvarna in accuracy. If it were me I would buy it AFTER chambering 6.5 x 50 Jap and a 6.5 x 55 Swede cartridges to see which it was.
 
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Anything is possible I guess but the MOST LIKELY explanation is that it is simply a miss identified 6.5 Swede. When I had my shop, a guy brought in his "6.5 Jap" because it was misfiring. When he laid the Italian Carcano on the counter the problem became obvious.
 
A 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser cannot be rechambered for the 6.5X50 Jap.

Head diameter:
6.5X55 = 0.480"
6.5X50 = 0.447"

Shoulder diameter:
6.5X55 = 0.435"
6.5X50 = 0.417"

As you can see, a 6.5X55 chamber will simply swallow a 6.5X50 cartridge.

I'm betting your Swedish Mauser has been mislabeled. I'd use that fact to drive the price down.
 
I'm gonna go in with some dummy rounds and see what it's really chambered for.

It's got a Carl Gustav reciever and the proper external barrel profile to be the original barrel.

(It also has a Bushnell Sharpshooter scope, but so what.)
 
I have a type 38 that I had reamed to take the 257 Roberts case (6.5x57) in 1966; had I known then I would have considered the Swede. It turned out to be a good shooter with 140's in the fast twist though, and I've no regrets....
Another is rebarrelled to 7x57AI ($200 with base, rings & dies, and a roller trigger), I'm still playing with that one. Strong and simple firearms, both.
 
-Turned out to be a 6.5 Swedish, after all. I dropped an empty 6.5 Jap cartridge in and it fell well down into the chamber and rattled around. 6.5 Swedish fit like Cinderella's slipper.

The salesman came down to $225,

I said, "Put it on lay-away."

Something else to look forward to next month, when I finish my job's probationary period (and get a nice raise, too!):)
 
Be sure and X out the Jap part and re-stamp the barrel with the proper caliber.

It will avoid all the confusion after you are gone and the next owner has to go through all this again.

rc
 
My experience with 6.5 Swedes is that the military barrels are very long throated. Because of that, many bullets in 6.5 have two canelures, and Swede military barrels shoot best with the bullet loaded way out -- to the rear canelure.
 
Which may make the Sierra #1730 140 grain Game King a better bullet choice.

900F
 
Vern Humphrey said:
My experience with 6.5 Swedes is that the military barrels are very long throated. Because of that, many bullets in 6.5 have two canelures, and Swede military barrels shoot best with the bullet loaded way out -- to the rear canelure.
Click to expand...
Long headspace and a long throat. There is a joke in there somewhere . . .

Mike
 
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